Blueberry Madeleines

Blueberry MadeleinesIngredients

  • 1 ¼ cup sifted all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon of baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 2/3 cup of granulated sugar
  • Zest of ½ lemon
  • 1 ½ sticks of unsaltedbutter, melted and cooled
  • 2/3 cup fresh blueberries, lightly tossed with flour, with the excess shook off

A Note on Madeleines

Madeleines are a traditional shell-shaped cake from the north of France, although they have become iconic to the entire nation. Traditionally, they taste of lemon, and are the texture of pound cake. Aside from the Madeleine pans, which you will have to buy, you probably already have all the ingredients for Madeleines in your house: flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, butter. And you can flavor them with anything you want, from blueberries to coconut, from cocoa to pistachios to verbena. I buy my nonstick Madeleine pans at Williams-Sonoma, and if you are looking for one, I know they sell them there.

Procedure

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a separate, large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer or stand mixer for about 30 seconds, until they are frothy. Add the sugar, and cream for about 5 minutes, until the mixture triples its volume.
  4. Add the dry ingredients slowly, in batches, to the wet ones, and mix them slowly in. If you have your mixer on too fast a setting, the flour will be in the air instead of in the batter. Add the lemon zest and the butter, and incorporate.
  5. Put the mixer away and gently fold the blueberries into the batter. You want to dust them with flour so they stay suspended in the batter, and also so that their juice is absorbed as they bake, so that the Madeleines will maintain their firm texture.
  6. Spray your Madeleine pans with a nonstick cooking spray just in case. Pour 1 tablespoon of batter into each mold and bake for 15-17 minutes. The edges of each Madeleine should be crisp and a toothpick inserted should come out clean of batter. Do not be alarmed if the molds do not look full and the batter does not look even before you bake these. They will settle and puff up on their own. Transfer the shells to a cooling rack and eat as many as you can immediately, making as much of a mess as possible. True Madeline style.